Talk About Power

In the final episode of Season One, Macon and Walter are joined by their colleague Maya Guzdar to discuss what they've learned as a result of speaking to people on the front lines of social movements in India, Russia, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Myanmar. They talk about how the U.S. State Department can better engage people outside of traditional power structures, connect social justice activists in the United States with activists in other countries, and what leaders need to do to better understand how power is changing around the world.

Macon and Walter speak with Yasmin Ullah and Tun Khin, two leaders of the Rohingya diaspora, to understand how the coup in Myanmar (Burma) has changed the situation for the Rohingya people. They talk about how the Rohingya diaspora has built new alliances with other groups inside and outside of Myanmar to stop the coup and to resettle the Rohingya back home.

Walter and Macon talk to three of the co-founders of Nigeria's Feminist Coalition, which has taken a lead role driving many of the country's largest social movements, from the #EndSARS protests against police brutality to #ArewaMeToo, which has put a spotlight on domestic abuse in the country. Hear how they're using cryptocurrency to fundraise, engaging Nigeria's diaspora to put international pressure on the government, using technology to organize, and changing the way that Nigerians see their role in society. Walter and Macon conclude with takeaways for policymakers in the West.

El Salvador has some of the most draconian abortion laws in the world, so much so that miscarriages and stillbirths land women in jail. Macon and Walter ask El Salvador human rights activists how they have been fighting to change El Salvador's Handmaid's Tales abortion laws. Who are the 17 women they are trying to free from prison? Why is now the moment for the international community to put its #EyesOnElSalvador? And what can policymakers, celebrities, and everyday Americans do to help?

Walter and Macon talk to Russian opposition figures and organizers affiliated Alexei Navalny's political network about the recent #FreeNavalny protests. Why are Russians protesting? How does the opposition organize? What does this mean for Putin's hold on power? Walter and Macon conclude with takeaways for U.S. policymakers and others in the West.

Macon and Walter talk with people on the front lines of the world's largest protest taking place in the world's largest democracy. Why are India's farmers protesting? How are they organizing? How is the government responding? And what does this mean for India and for U.S. policymakers?

Why do some movements change the world and others fizzle out? Former U.S. officials Macon Phillips and Walter Kerr talk to the people who are challenging traditional power structures around the world, from farmers in India, to dissidents in Russia, to human rights activists in Central America, and everywhere in between. Macon and Walter break down how these groups are organizing, explain the role of tech, and explore what this means for the rest of us.